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Experts Calling for Busy Hurricane Season; Veterans Info Stolen from Department Official's Home; Bush Praises Formation of Iraqi Government; Dozens of Deaths in Taliban Firefight; Report: New Orleans Flooding Could Have been Prevented; Ray Nagin Reelected Mayor of New Orleans

Aired May 22, 2006 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Live in B Control, I'm Tony Harris at CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. Kyra Phillips is on assignment.
Storm warnings. The National Hurricane Center makes its predictions for the season.

Cold hard cash. Federal agents search a U.S. congressman's home and office and make a surprising discovery in his freezer.

Adult swim? Not here. A 7-year-old dives in at Alcatraz to swim across the San Francisco Bay. He will join us on LIVE FROM.

So are you ready? All along the Gulf Coast, you see that message, along with the countdown to hurricane season. If you're wondering, it's 10 days away. And today the National Hurricane Center warned it will be an active one.

CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras joins us with the numbers.

And Jacqui, after last year, this is must-have information.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. And we're looking at, really, the next 20 years, potentially, or more of very active hurricane seasons. So you really want to pay close attention to this information. The best news I can tell you, that they're not predicting quite as active as a season as we had last year.

OK, here's the numbers. The forecast from NOAA, they are expecting 13 to 16 named storms. Eight to 10 of those storms are expected to become hurricanes and four to six of those major hurricanes.

And check the numbers. This column here on the edge, these are the average numbers that we see on a typical year. So certainly above normal on all of them. But quite a bit above normal, as much as three times above normal, in the major hurricane category. That means a Category 3 or better.

Now Dr. Gray from Colorado State University, and Phil Klotzbach put out their forecasts earlier. And I wanted to show you how they compared. All those numbers are pretty much right next to each other in the ballpark, though Dr. Gray predicting just one more than potentially NOAA is in the named storms. That means a tropical storm or better.

And speaking of names, what will the names be this year? We rotate these lists every six years. Of course, several of them retired last year, like Katrina and Wilma and Rita.

First named storm this year will be Alberto. Then Beryl. And look down the line. Believe it or not, Tony Harris, could be a Hurricane Tony later on this season. But hopefully, we won't quite get to some of those numbers.

Things have been relatively quiet in the Atlantic so far. But the sea surface temperatures have been above average by about one degree, and that's one of the factors along with weaker wind sheer why we're expecting this season to be above normal.

And now is the time we start watching for this, that we want to be prepared. And we're looking at a little disturbance, believe it or not, over the Gulf of Mexico. Things are not looking favorable for development. But this is one of the areas this time of year that we do tend to see tropical systems developing -- Tony.

HARRIS: OK. Tony.

JERAS: Yes, look out. Tony the hurricane. We called you that a long time ago.

HARRIS: Yes, that's right. OK, Jacqui, appreciate it. Thank you.

Let's get straight to the news room now and Betty Nguyen. She's following a story that is just in to CNN -- Betty.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. Talking about Hurricane Tony, take a listen to this, Tony. We hear about information being stolen from major companies. Well, get this. The information of U.S. military veterans, some 26.5 million. That information has been stolen from the home of a Department of Veterans Affairs analyst.

Now, this person took the material home. That was against the rules and regulations. But took that information home and that information was then stolen.

But the veterans affairs secretary says at this point it doesn't look like the information was part of an identity theft scam. But at this point it's all up under investigation. So we don't know the details of all of this.

What we do know, is that the names, the Social Security numbers, the dates of birth of 26.5 million veterans have been stolen from a computer that was taken home by an analyst of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and a full-scale investigation is under way. The FBI has been called in, Washington, local law enforcement have been called in. And as you know, there's going to be a lot of people looking into this, because that's a lot of information out there that was apparently stolen.

HARRIS: OK, this is big. OK, Betty, appreciate it, thank you.

Ninety-thousand bucks in cold hard cash allegedly stuffed in a congressman's freezer. The FBI says it found this cash in William Jefferson's Washington home last year. That information in a newly released court document which says the money was part of a payment delivered by an FBI informant.

Jefferson, an eight term Louisiana Democrat, is facing a bribery probe. But he has not been charged yet, and he vows to stay in office.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. WILLIAM JEFFERSON (D), LOUISIANA: I would take full responsibility for any crimes that I committed, if that were the case. But I will not plead guilty to something I did not do, no matter how major things look. And no matter the risk.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: FBI agents searched Jefferson's office yesterday. It's reportedly the first time agents have searched a lawmaker's Capitol Hill office.

A watershed event in the fight for Iraq. President Bush salutes the new Iraqi cabinet approved by the new Iraqi parliament over the weekend. The panel met yesterday for the first time. In Chicago today, Mr. Bush says it marks a victory for the cause of freedom.

CNN's Jonathan Freed joins me with more on the president's remarks -- Jonathan.

JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Tony.

President Bush was here in Chicago because the National Restaurant Association is meeting here. There are tens of thousands of people milling around this convention center, and about 4,000 in the hall where the president was hitting it hard, talking about the unity government that had just been established over the weekend, in Iraq, talking about it as a watershed event, talking about strong leadership that, in the president's words, has appeared now in Iraq that will represent the Iraqi people.

The president was urging that leadership in Iraq to seize the moment and to secure a democratic future. He was talking about, among other things, an increased role for women in Iraq; Tony, a need for transparency, to reduce the amount of corruption that had been in that country; and of course, working towards peace.

But the big theme of the day was that this past weekend, the establishment of that government, Tony, was a turning point. Let's listen to the president now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Al Qaeda's leader in Iraq wrote a letter that said democracy is coming, and this would mean suffocation for al Qaeda and its allies.

The terrorists fought this moment with all their hateful power, with suicide attacks and beheadings and roadside bombs. And now the day they feared has arrived. And with it has come a moment of great clarity. The terrorists can kill the innocent, but they cannot stop the advance of freedom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREED: And Tony, the president said that he is confident that history is going to record that these past few days will represent the time that terror began a retreat in the Middle East, his words -- Tony.

HARRIS: Jonathan, the president, did he talk about immigration today? As you know, the Senate is working on legislation right now. Any comments from the president?

FREED: He did, and he knew the audience that he was speaking to today. Although this was billed in advance as going to be an address on the war on terror and progress, and everybody expected him to talk about the events in Iraq and the establishment of that government this past weekend in Iraq, he was talking to a crowd of 4,000 people in the restaurant business. And as we all know, there are a lot of undocumented immigrants who work in that business. It is a sensitive topic for them, so he did start out by briefly dealing with that.

And the president sent a message to Capitol Hill today, Tony. He basically said, look, it's time for the Senate to put the final touches and deal with its bill to deal with immigration. He wants the House and Senate, of course, as is usually done. Those two bills are going to have to be reconciled, and he said he wants a bill on his desk so that he can sign it -- Tony.

HARRIS: Jonathan Freed traveling with the president in Chicago today. Jonathan, thank you.

A Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan hit hard by U.S. forces. Now dozens are reported dead. Let's get the latest from our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre.

Hi, Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Tony.

Well, this was an early morning operation in Kandahar province in a place called Azizi. The U.S. and Afghan forces were attempting to apprehend some suspected Taliban when they met heavy resistance. They called in air power and also ground support, as well.

At the end of the morning, when the smoke cleared, it turned out 80 people had been killed, including 20 that the U.S. military says had been -- have been confirmed as Taliban fighters. The other 60, they're still sorting through. They suspect they're linked to the Taliban, as well. There are reports from the ground, from some of the local governors there, that a number of civilians have been killed in this number, as many as 16 or so. But the U.S. military says it is still sorting that out.

The military, though, insists that the targeting of the facility was based on the fact that they were receiving hostile fire from that area and that the U.S. maintains the responsibility and the authority to attack, to counter attack when they're meeting hostile fire.

A statement this morning said simply that the coalition only targeted armed resistance, compounds and buildings known to harbor extremists and that the coalition forces must retain their ability to defend against fire emanating from known enemy positions.

And according to some of the accounts locally, it appeared that some of these Taliban fighters took up positions on the roof and in houses where civilians might have been. And that might account for the civilian death toll, as well.

Again, no official confirmation by the U.S. military of civilian deaths, but they are aware of the reports and are investigating -- Tony.

HARRIS: Our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre. Jamie, appreciate it. Thank you.

Welcome back, now get out. That's the way it seemed in a Baghdad courtroom today, during a trial of Saddam Hussein. One of his lawyers was tossed just minutes after being let in for the first time since she was kicked out last month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): You have to be quiet. Get out now.

You're a lawyer. You're supposed to have manners.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: The judge scolded Iraq's former president when he rose to his attorney's defense.

What's the single worst thing that happened to New Orleans last year? Experts are pretty sure one of the worst could have been avoided. We'll tell you what it is when LIVE FROM continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Want to get you straight back to the news room, my partner, Betty, who is working the story of the personal data of millions of service personnel veteran stolen.

Betty, what's the latest? NGUYEN: It's a lot of data, a lot of information. Twenty-six and a half million veterans. That's the information that we're talking about. And here's what it includes: their names, their Social Security numbers, their dates of birth.

Now, all of this information was taken home by an analyst for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Well, took that information home and then that home was burglarized. So the information has been stolen, a lot of valuable information.

Now, the secretary of veterans affairs says there's no indication this has nothing to do with identity theft, that this may just be a random burglary. But regardless, that information is out there. So a full-scale investigation is under way. The FBI has been called in.

And there's some information that people will need to know. If you're a veteran and you're fearful that your information is among that that was stolen -- 26.5 million veterans are included here -- let's give you the information, what you can do at this moment.

Phone lines have been set up so that you can call in and find out what you need to do next. Let me give you that phone number right now. We're also working to put that up on the screen for you. That phone number is 1-800-FED-INFO. 1-800-F-E-D-I-N-F-O.

If you want to go to a web site and find out more about this, you can go to www.FirstGov.gov.

So a lot of concern out there, Tony, today. By the way, that employee who took the information home, that employee is on administrative leave, pending the outcome of this investigation. But as you know, this is a big investigation involving a lot of information that has been stolen; 26.5 million veterans affected by this.

HARRIS: And Betty, part of the problem here is that this analyst took this information home improperly.

NGUYEN: That's the big problem. Why?

HARRIS: Yes.

NGUYEN: That's the question: why did you take this information home? That is in violation of the Veterans Affairs Office. That's in violation of the rules and regulations. So the question is, why did you take it home? And unfortunately it was stolen.

HARRIS: Yes.

NGUYEN: But regardless of that, that information is out there, information that involves 26.5 million veterans. That's a lot of information.

HARRIS: And at least at this point, it feels like a bit more than coincidence. But I know they'll be following for us. And our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntire, is digging around, as well, on the story.

NGUYEN: We're all over it, Tony. We'll bring you latest.

HARRIS: Yes, OK. Appreciate it, Betty. Thank you.

We asked you -- pardon me, asked you a question just a moment ago, with our break, and if you answered that question, the question was what was the worst thing to happen to New Orleans? Well, if you said -- you get partial credit on this, the real answer is flooding. And a new study finds that a lot of it didn't have to happen.

CNN's Sean Callebs joins me with more details and gives me a break so that I can clean my throat.

Sean, good to see you.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you, Tony. Now you've got me thinking about the throat.

Yes, those images are burned in our mind from last year: August, September, 85 percent of the city under water, the hundreds of people who lost their lives, the billions of dollars in damage.

Well, a new punishing report out by the National Science Foundation. And basically it comes down to three items. This intense flooding didn't need to be anywhere near as bad. And that's going to be tough for residents of the Crescent City to digest. They say about 80 percent of the flooding didn't need to happen.

Let's pan over here and I'll show you exactly what the report says is the problem. You see across there, part of the levee and the flood wall. Now, the water from the canal, like this one here, 17th Street Canal, it didn't overtop those flood walls. It eroded the bottom. The rushing water coming from Lake Pontchartrain scoured that out. Then those walls collapsed, water went pouring in.

That shouldn't have happened. The Corps said it was just -- I mean, the report said it was a poor design by the Army Corps of Engineers. And over the years every time they had a chance to fix this levy system, they did it on cheap.

And in the end, the citizens here paid the price in human suffering, and taxpayers all over the country are paying the price in another way, with billions of dollars that's needed that will come in here over the next several years to rebuild this city.

Secondly, it's just a big storm. There was going to be some flooding. That's what the report said.

And thirdly, these flood gates. Look back here. Now this is supposed to stop the floodwater from rushing down again from Lake Pontchartrain. Once a counterclockwise spin moves past New Orleans and pushes that water from Lake Pontchartrain down these canals, well, flood gates are supposed to stop that.

Why weren't these flood gates up years ago? The simply answer: petty bickering and squabbling among the various governments out here, the parish, the city, the entity that oversees the canals, the levee board, just so much pettiness.

Now the public is hearing this report for the first time today, Tony. It's not going to go over well.

HARRIS: Wow. OK, CNN's Sean Callebs. And there are so many questions. I know we'll be talking about it later on the program this afternoon. Sean, we appreciate it; thank you.

A landslide or a squeaker? A win is a win, and that means four more years for Ray Nagin. The newly reelected New Orleans mayor knows the next four years will be touch. CNN's Susan Roesgen takes a look at his plans.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN GULF COAST CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mayor Ray Nagin used to say that after Hurricane Katrina no one would want his job. In the end, he barely held onto it. Nagin defeated Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu by fewer than 6,000 votes.

MAYOR RAY NAGIN, NEW ORLEANS: It was a hard fought battle. And I want to reiterate my thanks to Mitch Landrieu for running a very good campaign. And we stayed on the high road. So I think that was pretty unusual for New Orleans. Because you know, everywhere we were going, people were saying, when are you all going to mix it up a little bit more? And we decided to kind of stick with the issues, since people were dealing with so many tough issues.

ROESGEN: The issues are obvious and everywhere: piles of trash on the streets, thousands of flooded and abandoned cars and neighborhood after neighborhood empty. Still enough of the voters believe Nagin has another chance to make things right.

Nagin received more than 80 percent of the black vote and just 20 percent of the white vote. But that 20 percent was key. Nagin was able to convince conservative white voters that Landrieu, part of a political dynasty in New Orleans, with roots in the civil rights movement, was too liberal to be trusted.

SILAS LEE, POLITICAL ACTIVIST: It was a political shotgun marriage, essentially, where you had conservative whites coming together to support Nagin because he was closer in terms of political philosophy with them than Mitch Landrieu.

ROESGEN: Mayor Nagin, a Katrina survivor, is now a political survivor.

NAGIN: Gandhi said it best. He said first they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, and then you win. God bless you.

ROESGEN: Susan Roesgen, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HARRIS: Well, it's coming someday. Are you ready for the next big disaster? The government wants to make sure you are. We'll show you how, straight ahead on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Well, he spent decades in the public health trenches, waging or leading global battles against tuberculosis, SARS and now bird flu. Dr. Lee Jong-Wook of South Korea rose through the ranks of the World Health Organization to become its director-general. On Saturday, Lee fell ill at an official function in Geneva, Switzerland. He underwent emergency surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain but died early this morning. Lee was 61 years old.

Stocks have been taking a beating over the last week and a half. So is the sell off over yet? Susan Lisovicz knows, and she joins us live from the New York Stock Exchange.

Hi, Susan.

(STOCK REPORT)

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